Gardening Tips 🌱 Quotes 🌸 Signs❗️

[LindaB671]

Tip: “Fragrant flowers that will add sweet scents to your garden: dianthus, gardenia, nicotiana, oriental lily, garden phlox, rose, sweet pea, lily of the valley, hyacinth, bearded iris, lilac, flowering crabapple, heliotrope, lavender, sweet alyssum, peony, moonflower, southern magnolia, daffodil and azalea.”  (Greetz).

[LindaB671]

Do you have a gardening tip to share? Do you have a gardening question? Do you know a garden related quote? How about a garden sign?
This is the place to share!

Tip: “Plant what you love, not what you think you should grow. You are much more likely to have success tending to a crop that you actually like.”

”To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Audrey Hepburn

Garden Sign: Free Weeds Pull Your Own

[LindaB671]

Tip: Using White Vinegar In The Garden - see attached (Farmer’s Almanac).

[TheSuzyQ]

I had no idea how useful vinegar can be. Thanks for the tips!

[LindaB671]

“The love of gardening is a seed once sewn that never dies.”  

[LindaB671]

Let’s get growing
What are you growing?

[LindaB671]

“He who plants a garden plants happiness.”  

[LindaB671]

“A friend is one who overlooks your broken fence and admires the flowers in your garden.”  

[AARPRachelA]

Does anyone have tips on how to get rid of aphids? I have a pansy plant that I brought inside and aphids are on it. It doesn't appear to be an unmanageable infestation yet, but wondering what folks have found that actually works to get rid of them? I've done blasts with the faucet sprayer, but there are still little bugs that remain 

[AaronA108617]

One of the most misunderstood six legged critters in a garden is the earwig. This is not to say they can not cause plant damage, especially to basils!

However, when I see earwigs the first thing I do is look for Aphids. THEY ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM. 

They are also good in your compost piles. I will move them to the compost pile and deal with the Aphids. You will want to monitor them closely as they will, if allowed, and can be a nuisance especially if they get into your house.

Aphids to an Earwig is like me going into a Fudge Shop!!! They will eat other insects also as they lean more to the carnivore side than veggy side. But again they will cause damage to plants. I grow several different types of Basils and they can become a pain...I use any type of picante hot sauce to move them.

Have a GREAT weekend folks....

[Anonymous]

@AaronA108617 do you have a picture of the earwig? Lol, I am too LAZY to go online and search Great post!!!

[AaronA108617]

[Anonymous]

@AaronA108617 Yikes

[AaronA108617]

you're not supposed to play with them....

That said I have been pinched a time or two...yes they can be very painful...just me...put some fresh mud made with soil pain stops in a couple minutes and the swelling goes away in time for lunch and back to work!!!

[AARPRachelA]

Thank you @aruzinsky and @LindaB671 for your tips. I ended going the less chemical-y route and used water with dish soap. I then brushed the aphids off with my fingers and cut back leaves that had a lot of them. I continue to check for aphids daily, and now I only see a few of them under leaves and around buds from time to time. I'm starting to see new flower buds, so that's a good sign! I also discovered that I've naturally attracted ladybugs and have seen a few larvae! 

[aruzinsky]

You may as well just wash them off with your garden hose every day.  I can't afford to do anything less than eradicate them on my cannas because aphids spread  viruses.  I spray my cannas whether they need them or not as a preventive measure.

https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/plant-viruses-infecting-cannas.html

"For the home gardener, viruses such as BYMV, CMV, and TAV can occur in vegetable gardens. These viruses are transmitted by aphids which could move to and infect canna plants."

If you have susceptible plants, you should not play around with aphids, for your neighbors' sake as well  as your own.

[Anonymous]

@LindaB671 what PURPOSE do Ladybugs serve? Lol, FORGOT (senior moment) and as usual too LAZY to go find out

[LindaB671]

@Anonymous “A ladybug is a good sign in a garden because it can mean fewer problems from pests, particularly the dreaded aphids. In addition to aphids, ladybugs also feed on other soft-bodied plant-eating insects, including mites.”  They also bring GOOD LUCK...so I’ve been told!  

[Anonymous]

Lol @LindaB671 I need some GOOD LUCK = need to go make sure there are LADY BUGS outside Thanks for response

[aruzinsky]

After she tells you that ladybugs eat aphids, it may interest you to know that ants raise aphids like humans raise cows.  Aphids are sometimes called "ant cows."

https://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/ecology/animals/invertebrates/aphid/ant-cows

[Anonymous]

@aruzinsky interesting

[LindaB671]

Hi @AARPRachelA  - From what I have read, aphids especially like the under side of plants, so be sure to treat those areas as well. You can often get rid of aphids by wiping or spraying the leaves of the plant with a mild solution of water, a few drops of dish soap and a pinch of cayenne pepper. This solution should be reapplied every 2-3 days for 2 weeks. Diatomaceous earth can be sprinkled over all surfaces of a plant to create a repellent barrier. An old fashioned remedy is to dust the plants with flour. Companion planting can be done. Some plants such as mustards and nasturtiums will lure aphids to them, away from other plants. Plants which repel aphids, such as catnip, garlic and chives, can be planted. (Espiritu & Nielson).

[aruzinsky]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imidacloprid

I have used Imidacloprid to eradicate aphids.  Remarkably, it is the only thing that I've tried that eradicates mealy bugs.  Consider yourself lucky that you don't have mealy bugs.  Wear a respirator when spraying.

[LindaB671]

“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’”  - Robin Williams.

[aruzinsky]

Tip: Grow variegated cannas for attractive foliage and flowers at the same time.

[LindaB671]

Tip: “Fragrant flowers that will add sweet scents to your garden: dianthus, gardenia, nicotiana, oriental lily, garden phlox, rose, sweet pea, lily of the valley, hyacinth, bearded iris, lilac, flowering crabapple, heliotrope, lavender, sweet alyssum, peony, moonflower, southern magnolia, daffodil and azalea.”  (Greetz).

[aruzinsky]

People in Florida or California can grow White Ginger, hedychium coronarium, which has very fragrant flowers.  The closest odor I can think of is vanilla but it isn't close.  I am going to try to grow it in my northern garden, like a canna,

Moonflower, ipomoea alba, is normally a vine similar to morning glory but it only blooms at night.  I stopped the vining habit of moonflower with the growth regulator, uniconazole, and grew it as a potted plant.

[LindaB671]

Tip: How to get rid of snails and slugs in your garden:

1. The plant astrantia gives off a scent that repels slugs. Other plants which deter slugs are wormwood, rue, fennel, anise and rosemary.

2. Remove shelter. Slugs will seek cover under bricks, garden furniture and logs.

3. Make a beer trap. Bury a half filled container, with 2-3 cm of rim above ground, near vulnerable plants. The scent will lure slugs which then fall in and get stuck.

4. Create a prickly barrier. Laying down grit [crushed egg shells (debatable), sand, pine needles, thorny cuttings, or diatomaceous earth (pros and cons)] will deter and eventually kill these pests.

5. Place a lure. Have a pile of old lettuce leaves or dried cat food in a damp shady corner to attract a large number of slugs.

Also note: Damp, cool conditions will attract slugs. Mulch traps moisture, so you may need to temporarily remove it if it’s badly infested with slugs. (Funnel).

@TheSuzyQ 

[TheSuzyQ]

These are great tips! I am going to experiment with a couple. Thanks!

“I’ve always felt that having a garden is like having a good and loyal friend.” – C Z Guest

[aruzinsky]

Gardening Tip: Imitate the best at growing, not socializing.

For example, the best grower of tomatoes is:

https://returntonow.net/2020/07/21/man-sets-guinness-world-record-with-28-foot-tomato-plant-that-pro...

[LindaB671]

“Mothers are flowers in the garden of life.” Fuller  

[LindaB671]

“Nature does not hurry and yet everything is accomplished.”